Program Overview

Introduction to the Product Design Innovation Online Certificate

The Product Design Innovation certificate is designed to help individuals turn their ideas into reality. This certificate program focuses on providing insights from industrial, software, product, and UX/UI design, giving students a comprehensive understanding of the creative thinking required to drive innovation.

Program Overview

The Product Design Innovation certificate can be completed online in as little as one semester. The program introduces design techniques that challenge students' comfort zones and encourage innovative thinking in product design. Students gain knowledge of the techniques required to deploy a design that exceeds user expectations while building product loyalty.

Key Takeaways

• Exposure to foundational design skills, including free-form sketching, UX feature analysis, and concept modeling.
• The application of these skills to design challenges.
• Effective prototyping and testing.
• Design skills for services and experiences.

Curriculum Details

The Product Design Innovation certificate consists of two courses that teach design principles and techniques for product development. These courses can be applied to tangible products, services, experiences, and related systems. The coursework challenges students to apply their learning in the context of research, sketching, model making, user testing, and presentation.

Course 1: Introduction to Design Innovation

Course Highlights

• Learn methods to understand a breadth of user needs.
• Gain skills in techniques and applications to create tangible products and product features.
• Hone skills needed to visualize and represent concepts efficiently.
• Generate a range of solutions via methods of early prototyping and testing.

Course Description

This course introduces design principles for product development and instructs students in techniques and applications for tangible products. Students learn about the design process, from understanding user needs to creating a fully considered solution that meets those needs and delights the user.

Course 2: Innovation of Services & Experiences

Pre/Co-requisite

49-600 - Introduction to Design Innovation

Course Highlights

• Learn techniques to design services and experiences, easily distinguishing and shifting between different perspectives on the same design problem space.
• Leverage service and experience innovation frameworks to explain how an offering unfolds for people.
• Design holistic "product" offerings that span UI/UX, physical products, and human activity.
• Gain fluency to articulate offerings that are made up of systems of products, services, and other components.

Course Description

This course defines and studies services, experiences, and related systems. Students learn the basics of designing services and experiences, focusing on the quality of human interactions and experiences often engrained in functional and/or tangible products.

Certificates Offered

The Integrated Innovation Institute offers several certificates, including:

• Methods & Tools for Product Innovation
• New Product Management
• Product Design Innovation
• Technology for Product Management

Program Structure and Duration

The Product Design Innovation certificate is designed to be completed online in as little as one semester, offering flexibility for career-minded individuals who wish to continue working full-time while pursuing their education.

Target Audience

The program attracts individuals looking for a flexible learning structure, particularly those with a passion for product & service development, innovation, and/or entrepreneurship. Highly qualified candidates demonstrate a strong background in these areas.